KL Health Clinic to open till 9.30pm in 3 weeks' time

Kuala Lumpur Health Clinic in Jalan Fletcher here will stretch its operating hours to 9.30pm in three weeks' time.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the time extension was meant to accommodate the increasing number of patients.

"Since it opened three days ago, the clinic has received about 700 patients," he told reporters after visiting the facility today.

It was earlier reported that the clinic could cater to 3,000 patients per day.

More than 50 doctors including four family health specialists as well as 200 health officers are based at the clinic, according to Dr Subramaniam.

The minister said the clinic was a replacement for the services provided by the Outpatient Department at Kuala Lumpur Hospital, which had also reduced congestion at the latter.

He said the clinic built at a cost of RM50 million, provided 12 services, among them, outpatient, dentistry, mother and child, rehabilitation, specialist x-ray, laboratory and pharmacy.

On grouses by the public about having to wait a long time to fill in their particulars in the computerised system, he said the problem would be resolved in a month.

Meanwhile, Dr Subramaniam said when asked about the five per cent offer of places in local public higher learning institutions (IPTA) to foreign medical, dentistry and pharmacy students beginning this year, that it would benefit IPTA.

The endeavour would enable IPTA to increase their earnings through the fees paid by the foreign students which are not subsidised, he said.

The offer was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during his visit to India, which was also in line with Malaysia's move towards liberalisation of its higher education system and becoming an education hub.

-- BERNAMA